TOPIC 'Bioenergy' on Oct 22, 2008 (CEST)
Answers to Poverty in West Africa May Include Biomass Energy
Countries such as Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Benin, Ivory Coast, Niger, Mali, Togo, and Senegal all have natural resources. The answers to the poverty in these countries could come from a bio-energy solution. Three key crises are being faced: there is not enough food – agricultural production is down all over the globe; there is not enough wood; and there is not enough fuel. What to do? Development alternatives – concentrate on bio-energy development.
The solutions being considered include manufacturing ethanol from sugar cane and sweet sorghum, converting diesel engines so they will operate on bio-fuels, and using liquid bio-fuels to generate electricity on a small scale.
While concentrating on these three strategies, however, the West African Economic and Monetary Union believes it is also important to have strict policies in place that regulate bio-energy development or it could compete with agricultural production for food. Thoughtful policies must focus not only on developing and utilizing bio-energy, but also limit the impacts to food security, the environment, and the countries’ agricultural systems as a whole.
For instance, so that competition for land to grow crops does not compete with forested land to produce wood fuel, re-foresting the areas already producing wood fuel should be entertained. Other forestry initiatives that keep the land sustainable for growth and development should also be put in place.
Each scenario is important and all can be managed so that each effort is successful; however, good planning must be utilized. The United Nations Foundation has stated that international cooperation is an essential ingredient in successful implementation of these programs in West Africa. Locally grown and locally used bio-energy developments offer substantial opportunities to reduce poverty in rural areas. The answers are at our fingertips – we need only to put them in place and use them in good stewardship.
Sherry Irvin
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
